Mr Gove has said leaving the EU will mean quitting the Common Fisheries Policy, which sets quotas and gives other nations access between 12 and 200 nautical miles from our shore.

Niels Wichmann, head of trade body Danish Fishermen, said: “Certain access will have to be granted to vessels from other countries.

“In terms of the claim ‘we want our waters back’ — you never had the waters. We’ve fished there for hundreds of years.”

But the Scottish Fisherman’s Federation said: “It’s clear from our meetings with the government that control over UK waters will be in our hands.”

A spokesman for Mr Gove last night said: “He was reiterating that once we leave, we are not saying we won’t grant access to other countries but it will be for us to decide who gets access to our waters.”